Lucona was a ship sunk in the Indian Ocean on 23 January 1977 by a bomb planted by Austrian businessman Udo Proksch, as part of an insurance fraud. Proksch, the owner of the cargo, also then-owner of famous Viennese confectioners Demel, claimed 212 million schilling (approx. US$20 million) from his insurance company, saying that the cargo was expensive uranium mining equipment. He was subsequently convicted in 1991 of the murder of six crew (of the crew of 12) who were killed by the explosion. Proksch died in prison in 2001.
The Lucona was located by American shipwreck hunter David Mearns in January 1991; it was the first wreck he discovered at great depth, 4,200 metres (13,799 feet). Working as a Project Manager with Eastport International, he found that the ship had been sunk by a time bomb.[1] While fraud had been suspected, investigations were obstructed by powerful Austrian politicians who were friends of Proksch. [2] Eventually, several ex-ministers were convicted over their involvement. The ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Leopold Gratz, was sentenced for forging documents authenticating the cargo, and Finance Minister Hannes Androsch was dismissed for obstructing the investigations. The Minister of Defense Karl Lütgendorf, a shareholder in the Proksch firm, had given permission to deliver explosives to sabotage the ship and committed suicide when that became known.
Proksch fled to the Philippines in 1988 after Hans Pretterebner published a book about the scandal. Returning to Vienna incognito in 1989, he was recognized and arrested. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on March 11, 1991. Walking out of the courtroom Proksch said "Heil Hitler!". A year later the sentence was increased to life in prison. He died on 27 June 2001 during heart surgery.
^Shelsby, Ted (1996-07-29). "Local firm brings clues to surface Oceaneering operates equipment used at TWA crash site". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
^"The Lucona Affair", by R.C. Longworth, Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1989
Lucona was a ship sunk in the Indian Ocean on 23 January 1977 by a bomb planted by Austrian businessman Udo Proksch, as part of an insurance fraud. Proksch...
part of a major insurance fraud. Proksch died in prison. In 1977, the ship Lucona sank in the Indian Ocean, after an explosion, killing six people. Proksch...
n'avaient pas rendez-vous (1991) El Viaje (1992) Rosenemil [de] (1993) The Lucona Affair [de] (1993) Der grüne Heinrich (1994) Guerriers et captives (1994)...
Poppi Fabio Bonzi The Player Himself Robert Altman Scene deleted 1993 The Lucona Affair Enzo Lombardo Jack Gold Jonathan of the Bears Jonathan Kowalski Enzo...
Muller To Kill a Priest Bishop 1989 When the Whales Came Will 1993 The Lucona Affair [de] Rudi Waltz 1996 Executive Decision Nagi Hassan / Altar 1997...
Vienna high society. After Proksch was arrested for his involvement in the Lucona affair in 1989, the Raiffeisen Bank became the owner of the famous company...
Jackal (1990) The War That Never Ends (1991) She Stood Alone (1991) The Lucona Affair [de] (1993) Spring Awakening (1994) The Return of the Native (1994)...
Oceaneering ROVs were used to determine what happened to the cargo ship Lucona in the 1991 murder and fraud investigation that claimed uranium mining equipment...
by the Jagdkommando. The training area was once one of the scenes in the Lucona Scandal, which shook Austrian politics at the end of the 1970s. Wiesensee...
and maritime incidents in 1977 Shipwrecks 13 Jan: Ivan Sechenov 23 Jan: Lucona January (unknown date): Success Star 17 Jan: Irenes Challenger 2 Feb: Vasso...
and maritime incidents in 1977 Shipwrecks 13 Jan: Ivan Sechenov 23 Jan: Lucona January (unknown date): Success Star 17 Jan: Irenes Challenger 2 Feb: Vasso...
Proksch (1934–2001) businessman and industrialist (murderer convicted in the Lucona case) ∞ 2. Tilman Spengler (born 1947) author and publisher Friedelind Wagner...
worked on the criminal investigation into the foundering of the freighter Lucona, and in 1994 located the wreck of the ore-bulk-oil carrier MV Derbyshire...
and maritime incidents in 1977 Shipwrecks 13 Jan: Ivan Sechenov 23 Jan: Lucona January (unknown date): Success Star 17 Jan: Irenes Challenger 2 Feb: Vasso...
and maritime incidents in 1977 Shipwrecks 13 Jan: Ivan Sechenov 23 Jan: Lucona January (unknown date): Success Star 17 Jan: Irenes Challenger 2 Feb: Vasso...
and maritime incidents in 1977 Shipwrecks 13 Jan: Ivan Sechenov 23 Jan: Lucona January (unknown date): Success Star 17 Jan: Irenes Challenger 2 Feb: Vasso...
Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus district of Vienna. Ofner first said a popular phrase. During the Lucona affair, the then Minister of Justice Ofner actuated in a parliamentary debate...
African National Congress. Six of the 12 crew of the Austrian freighter Lucona were killed by a time bomb planted on orders of Austrian businessman Udo...
1980 Sunday Children 1986 Ginger and Fred Kidnapped Industrialist 1993 The Lucona Affair [de] Minister Klaus Weidenfeld Schindler's List Rolf Czurda 1997...
and maritime incidents in 1977 Shipwrecks 13 Jan: Ivan Sechenov 23 Jan: Lucona January (unknown date): Success Star 17 Jan: Irenes Challenger 2 Feb: Vasso...
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